Heresy I Receiver

[JoeT1224]

Just picked up a 1981 set of these speakers in Walnut.  I've been wanting them for a long time, but know nothing when it comes to setting up a system.  All I want is great sound (go figure).  By no means am I  an A/V guru, I just enjoy good music in my home.  I am hoping to pick up a Yamaha CD changer and Revox B790 turntable.  Most importantly, I am looking at a Yamaha R S-500 receiver.  Is this a good unit for these speakers?  Other than CDs, my iPod, and an occasional LP, I am not looking for anything very specific other than clear sound and decent bass.  I like the looks of the Yamaha receiver and the CD changer I am looking to purchase.  Please let me know if this is a good setup, or, if there is something you believe to be superior.

 

Thanks in advance.  I searched the forum beforehand for feedback on this setup but couldn't find anything.  Look forward to hearing from any of you.

[derrickdj1]

Welcome to the forum Joe.  Without knowing a few things about your room and you, it looks to be a decent unit for what you want.  A small sub will help the bass.  Room size, type of music and listening level should be considered.

[JoeT1224]

Hard to gauge the room-my den and kitchen have no true wall between them.  There is an L-shaped breakfast bar (with lower cabinets, counter space, and eye level cabinets at the top.  To add to that mischief, I have a 15-ft. or so cathedral ceiling that runs the length of the 2 rooms.  So, in measuring, I don't know if I should take the kitchen into account.  Take the breakfast bar out, it's quite large.  Living area is, more or less, an open floor plan.

 

In terms of knowing about me-I have quite a collection of music-Sinatra (all the old crooners), easy listening (imagine heavy-stringed, sleepy time Percy Faith Orchestra), Elvis (his more mature material post '68), Eagles, Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins, Chicago, Bon Jovi, and Bruno Mars.  Good luck trying to figure me out.

 

Listening level?  I like to feel the music, but not to the extreme of shattering windows.

[derrickdj1]

The room sounds like it is on the large size.  I would pair the speakers with no less than one and preferably two powered 15 in. subs.  This will take some of the load off the receiver and the speakers XO 70 Hz or around there.  

[Peter P.]

Play the system "as-is" and tell us if you hear any deficiencies. We can work from there.

 

And what; 5 posts and no one has told Joe to replace his capacitors yet? You guys are slackin'... ;-)

[JohnA]

That should be enough power, but more won't hurt.  Also look at Marantz, Onkyo/Integra, NAD, Denon, ........

 

A restored Yamaha CR1000, CR1020 or CR2020, from the '70s would be among the best sounding options.  Same for '70s Marantz and Sansui.

[HDBRbuilder]

Mid-1970's H/K 430 twin-powered receiver...or its bigger brother the H/K 730 twin-powered receiver...'nuff said!

[chriswhotakesphotos]

I've had a bad experience with a Yamaha stereo receiver. I bought a much lower tier one to be fair (something from the 'natural sound' line) but the sound was pretty rough. Huge distortion when pushed past a speaking volume, and that was on sensitive Klipsch speakers! They definitely fluffed the power rating on the spec sheet. Maybe the nicer ones are better, but personally I wouldn't buy from them again. 

 

For around the same price you should be able to get something nice from NAD or Emotiva. I use an Emotiva power amp with my Heresies right now and it's great. Their TA-100 would fit close to that price and should sound good.

[The History Kid]

Two votes for Emotiva here.  Thought about the TA-100 myself, but have no application for one right now.

[pzannucci]

My vote is with something similar to John's suggestion.  If you don't need FM, go with a Yamaha CA-800 or CA-1000.  Very nice pieces and include Class A amplification.

If not looking vintage or surround, look at the new Outlaw, Yamaha, and Emotiva integrateds.  For receivers, non-surround, since Heresy 1s are a bit bright, I'd stay away from the Yamaha.  You shouldn't be able to go wrong with these suggestions though my opinion.

Also, Heresys may not need a sub if you place them close to the wall or in corners no higher than a foot off the floor on angled stands.  

And yes, replace the caps if everything is original and possibly do the changes to drop the tweeter level if you find them bright.  Search through the threads for swamping resistor and similar with reference to changing taps on the autoformer.

[ricktate]

If you want new I would look at accessories 4less ....... Orbit turntables are made in USA.....just some suggestions.

[JoeT1224]

I want to thank all of you for your input.  I ran across a mint Yamaha CR-820 that has recently been serviced that I found online.  Biggest issue (as I am limited on audio knowledge) is I want to ensure I can connect an iPod to it.  What would it take and will I compromise any sound from it?  This is the only reason why I've stayed away from older units until now.

 

Speakers are against a wall, BTW...still debating on spending the money on a sub.

 

Haven't heard the speakers since tested in the original owner's home.  What are signs that capacitors should be replaced and what is a ballpark on that?

 

Thanking you each in advance.

[Mighty Favog]

I would open up the cabs and see if everything looks original. If you're not sure just post some pics and we'll be able to tell ya. It might be hard to tell if the caps need changing if you don't have a properly sounding example to compare them to. But, at that age, I'd bet on them needing some help. I'm told 20-years is about the average life for stock crossovers.

 

Bob Crites sells replacement crossovers for the Heresy E for $185/pr. Or he also has repair kits for quite a bit less if you're handy with a soldering iron. Others, here, make them too so you can decide who to get them from.

 

http://www.critesspeakers.com/prices_-_new_crossovers.html

[JoeT1224]

Opened the cabinets up.  What I found is attached.

[Mighty Favog]

O.k., the crossovers are definitely original. So, yes, you may want to consider some new caps. The transformers are most likely o.k.  If you're used to soldering, you can either get some capacitors from Mr. Crites (he sells Sonicaps) or if those are too expensive you can get some from Parts-Express (Dayton brand) for a bit cheaper.

 

Or you can either replace the entire crossover (there's a few people on the board that build them) or you can send them the crossovers you have and they can replace just the parts they need. The downside with sending them out is you're without your speakers for a couple of weeks.

 

It does look like someone added some white wetherstripping to seal the back panel. Not a bad move.

 

To find the year they were made, look at the serial number of the paper tag stapled to the back of the cabinet. The letter in the number will translate to the year. If there's no paper tag, look at the back of the cabinet and see if the serial number has been stamped into very top edge.